~Hello pumpkin~

Lately I've been thinking a lot about season's changing and how that translates right now to my own life. You may have noticed it's been a few months since I've posted any decor or home updates on the blog. I'm here to tell you that the reasons for that are hard to talk about and although I hate to admit it, life has kinda kicked my booty lately.

Changes can be hard, but I'm a die hard optimist, so I truly believe that with change, comes good things even though some transitions and changes may take longer than others to adapt. My first adjustment in life happened in August, (Well, who am I kidding, it really started in May, when the realization hit me that my baby was going away to college). I literally spent all summer soaking up every last moment with her and that is why I was absent in my writing here. In August, my plan was to give myself a few weeks to adjust or rather relax, etc, after we moved her in on the 16th and then jump full force back into the blog and delve into other possible job opportunities.

On the day we moved my daughter into her dorm room, we got the devastating news that my brother in law had died unexpectedly. It has been a few months now and I'll be honest, there is nothing that puts life into perspective like the death of a loved one. I can't talk about the loss of him without mentioning also that we were truly blessed to have shared life with him and call him family. His smile lit the room, he was one of those people that everyone loved and he was always genuine, humble and kind to all. He will be sorely missed by so many. The loss, is a change that I didn't feel for once, had any silver lining.

At that time, I was already in that "empty nester" mode of not being a SAHM (stay at home mom) anymore and thinking what the heck was I going to do differently now that I no longer had that precious title. I will tell you, I put every single ounce of who I am into the job of raising kids and although I'm always here for my family until I die, my identity shifted that day and I honestly have felt a little lost since then. I have been paralyzed by my own shift in title, that doing projects seemed worthless and I have been lacking motivation on that front since August.

In my empty nester loneliness, I have done something I have never done in all my life, I felt sorry for myself. My everlasting since of optimism had left the building. Here and now, I am searching for that optimism to resurge and take hold and I can see a glimpse in it as I write it all out for you here. I'm not really good at sharing personal feelings in such a public forum, so even as I type these words I'm cringing a lot. But there may be another stay at home mom who is transitioning to a new role, whether it's back to work, or kids leaving the nest, so I'm sharing my thoughts anyway to hopefully give someone else the courage to speak up about their own insecurities and fears in the transition. Two things I can be sure of even though I'm worrying over my new world: One, I know I am resilient, I have done hard things before! And two, I know I am grateful for the time with my kids, which I wouldn't trade for the whole world. Now, I just have to adapt to the changes and embrace the seasons. I am giving myself time to adjust, work through the transitions and although their will never be a better title for me than SAHM, I am dedicated to be open to my new way of life and I appreciate your patience with me.

With that painful explanation out of the way, you know where I have been lately, and if life has kicked your booty lately too, well... it's going to be alright, hang in there and take what you can from it because life is worth living and I believe that God gave us this time on earth to learn from the hard times so that we can truly appreciate the good!

I am extremely grateful for the time I share with you all in this Home forum and I want to thank you for your support, the likes and comments on social media and the following of this blog. My hopes for the blog have always been to inspire creativity and to help people create comfort in their homes by showing you just how to tap into your own style and to not be afraid of DIY projects. I rarely thought in those early days of the blog just how much I would gain from all of you with such encouragement and inspiration, and for that I am deeply grateful. Design is a passion that fuels my soul and I'm so honored that you spend the time reading this blog. With that sentiment, I will get to the part of the post where I actually share some photos! ;)

One of my favorite things to do is to decorate for the holidays and Autumn has always been one of my favorite seasons! And it is because of one thing in particular that makes it so fun and that is, (drum roll, please)..... "PUMPKINS". Can you have too many? No . Does it matter what color they are? Nope. And does everyone love them? I mean, I haven't met anyone who doesn't, so...yes!

I started decorating for the Fall in my dining room, and that color inspiration was carried all through my living room and master bedroom. It sometimes, just takes that one thing to inspire us, and for me this year it was this adorable mustard colored felt pumpkin at Target.

I took that mustard color pumpkin and ran with it (okay, I mean, I paid for it first and it's just an expression) and I'm loving the pops of color in each room. Here is a look at the dining room in all of it's pumpkin-ness! (yes, that's a word :) )

I love to put a little whimsy in decorating, so I painted some ugly bright orange fake leaves with the lovely mustard color and attached them to the wall like they were floating. Fun stuff!

I also created these cute tags for the place settings that read, "hello pumpkin" in the same mustard yellow because who doesn't like to be called a pumpkin? Uh, no one, be honest! LOL!